Pillow Talk
by teach76
Summary: Filming a gay storyline, Will and Sonny come to realize their feelings for each other.
1. Chapter 1

"Aaaand, CUT! Thanks guys! That's it for you two today! See you bright and early tomorrow!"

As the production crew retreats to another part of the studio, Sonny and Will both sigh at another day completed. They are exhausted from a full day of shooting, and, for a moment, continue lying there on the set bed, eyes closed, still in their final shot's position: Will on his back, Sonny tilted on his side, his head on Will's bare chest, Will's fingers grazing Sonny's ear. The top of the sheet draped lazily over their hips. Slowly, Will begins to fidget, his fingers pulling at Sonny's ear.

"Why do you always DO that?!" Sonny says, startling Will, who had been half asleep.

"Do what?" Will asks innocently.

"Pulling on my ear like that! You know I hate that," Sonny says, slightly chuckling, but still bothered by it. Pulling free of Will, Sonny stretches out, his back now flat on the bed.

"Why?" Will chuckles back.

Sonny, grateful for his current position, staring at the ceiling, unable to really look Will in the eyes, smiles, but sighs, "I don't know, I just do."

"Well," Will says, sitting up on the edge of the bed, "I think Chad and I are grilling out with a bunch of friends tonight. You coming?"

Sonny sits up as well, facing away from Will, "Sorry, I promised Bethany I would be home tonight for her specialty dinner and a movie at home."

"Specialty dinner?" Will asked, furrowing his brow. He stands and begins to get dressed. "What is it?"

"Oh, you know, China Express, number 8 with fried rice," Sonny smiles broadly, trying not to laugh at his girlfriend's expense.

Will laughs, "Oookay, well, if you change your mind, you know where we are!" He sits back down on the bed and pulls on his boots.

"Thanks, I appreciate the offer."

Will raises an eyebrow. He looks over at Sonny, but can only talk to his dark locks and bare back. "Even though you never take us up on it anymore."

"Yeah, sorry—"

"No, it's okay! I understand! Someday, maybe I'll find someone willing to turn down a night with friends for takeout Chinese food and Redbox." Will says thoughtfully, giving a slight smile. He grabs his keys, "See you in the morning!"

Sonny absentmindedly murmers, "Goodnight." He sits for a few more minutes, clearing his head, and, sure that Will is gone, pulls the sheet off and quickly reaches for his jeans that are lying nearby.

"Whoa, um, are you happy to see me, or…" Sonny, startled, one leg in-one leg out, looks up to see Bethany, glancing down at his boxers.

"Well, yes, of course I'm happy to see you! I was just thinking about you actually!" Still reeling from the surprise visit, he fumbles through buttoning his pants and throws on his t-shirt.

"Ah, yes, I can tell," Bethany says, as she pulls Sonny closer, her hand on his lower back, pressing him against her. She gives him a couple of teasing kisses, then takes his hand, eager to go.

"Um, …just a sec, okay? I just need to get the rest of my stuff, and I will be right there…Meet you outside, okay?"

Bethany tilts her head and gives him a sideways smile, but agrees. "Okay, see you in a sec," and with another quick peck on the lips, heads outside.

Sonny puts on his shoes and begins to walk out of the studio. With a fleeting thought in his head, he turns, looks at the rumpled sheets on the other side of the bed, gives a slight smile, then slowly turns and exits the studio.


	2. Chapter 2

Sonny grabs the bag of popcorn out of the microwave, and makes his way back to the couch, settling in next to Bethany, who has already started the dvd.

"Sometimes I wonder how they pick which previews to put at the beginning of movies. I mean, if I am watching a romantic comedy, why in the heck would they put action flicks in the previews?" Bethany says, pressing the fast forward button a few more times.

"Because they know there's some poor schmuck watching it with you, and they are trying to give him a little taste of happiness before the sappiness begins," Sonny answers with a smirk. He quickly feeds her a few pieces of popcorn before she has a chance to say anything. Her eyes narrows as she chews, but the edge of her mouth curls in amusement.

Finished chewing, she challenges, "Um, excuse me? I do believe _you_ are the one who picked out this movie, sir."

"I was only thinking of you, dear. I was only thinking of you."

"Sure," she rolls her eyes, as Sonny puts his arm around her shoulders, drawing her closer.

The movie is good, but predictable. Typical love story. Boy meets girl. They become friends. Boy dates every girl _but_ her. Girl finds someone else. Boy realizes he loves girl. Boy and girl live happily ever after.

_Sonny and Bethany's love story wasn't quite as typical. They met through some mutual friends. Being the new guy to the group, Bethany had kind of taken Sonny under her wing, letting him in on all of the inside jokes. Over time, even when they were out somewhere in the group, they always ended up at a table alone, laughing and developing their own inside jokes. One night, after just a little too much to drink, the two had hugged goodnight, and, pulling back, Bethany paused for a beat, then gave him a quick peck on the cheek. Despite the somewhat taken aback look in Sonny's eyes, she cautiously tried a quick kiss on the lips. Sonny had slowly kissed back, and the relationship developed. Just a couple of months later, Bethany's apartment had a fire, and, being the amazing guy he was, Sonny offered to have her move in with him. She was ecstatic! They had settled into the domestic life together, despite only having known each other for a short time. Theirs wasn't a ravaging, throw you on the bed and have my way with you kind of love. It was a sweet love. Romantic comedy kind of love._

Sonny, still tired from his long day at the studio, finds himself leaning his head onto Bethany's shoulder and closing his eyes about an hour and a half into the movie. He is replaying the events of the day in his head, and thinking about what was to come tomorrow.

"Sonny? Sonny?!" he hears, startled.

"Wha-what?" he sits up, remembering where he is, and looks at Bethany, a slightly disappointed look in her eyes.

"You slept through the best part!"

"Sorry, it was just a long, emotional day," Sonny apologizes.

"Emotional?" Bethany asks, confused.

"Yeah, our storyline has been building up, and today it kind of came to a he-…It was the clim-…today was the part the fans have been waiting for, so we had to make it seem real and believable, and it just took a lot of time shooting and reshooting scenes today. I guess it drained me more than I realized."

"Well," Bethany says, touching her forehead to Sonny's, "I don't know what you were dreaming about, but you sure looked happy about it."

Pulling his head back, "What…what do you mean?" Sonny asks, confused.

"The movie ended, and I asked you how you liked it, but when I looked down at your face, you were asleep. With a huge smile on your face. It was kinda creepy actually," she says with a chuckle.

"Creepy?" Sonny pouts.

"Yeah, but, I guess if you told me what you were thinking about, it might not be creepy," she says, pulling him closer, "it might be…sexy."

"Well, as a matter of fact, I was thinking about being in bed…" Sonny says, swallowing a lump in his throat, "maybe you could make my dreams come true?"

Bethany shuts off the TV, takes Sonny's hand, and leads him down the hallway. Hoping to recreate the feelings he had in his dream…still thinking about the day…and the dream…he takes a deep breath and follows.


	3. Chapter 3

"_Who_ are you looking for?" Chad asks, as Will looks down to the street from their rooftop patio. "Practically everyone we know is already here."

"Well, I'd invited Sonny, but-" Will says, not sounding too hopeful.

"Will, Will, Will," Chad interrupts, putting his arm around Will's neck and walking him back toward the action of the get-together, "Sonny boy has other things to do these days…and by 'things', I mean-"

Will shakes free of Chad's man-embrace and quickly responds, "Yes, Chad, I get it, I know…just…stop. Yeah, I didn't figure he would come. He said he and Bethany already had plans."

"He and Bethany _always_ have plans. He went from single to married in a matter of a few months."

"He isn't _married_," Will says, a little too quickly…and snippy.

Chad looks at his friend, not quite placing the emotion in his voice. "Well, he might as well be. They live together. He goes home to her every night."

"Yeah, true," Will admits, and racks his brain for a way to change the subject.

"Although _we_ live together, and I guess, technically, I come home to _you_ every night," Chad jokes.

Will rolls his eyes, but feels an uneasiness in his stomach. However, it quickly passes, as Chad points out a "hot blonde" across the patio, a friend of a friend that would be perfect for Will.

As they make their way over, Chad sings her praises: pre-med, plays beach volleyball on the weekends…but Will hears none of it, having already tuned him out.

"Morgan, this is Will. Will this is Morgan," Chad says, motioning to each as he mentions them.

Will and Morgan politely smile and shake hands, both feeling a bit awkward in the moment.

"Well, I'll let you two get to know each other," Chad quickly says and slyly walks away.

"Hmm…this isn't awkward at all," Morgan says with a shy smile.

Will laughs, "Nope, not at all."

At the same time, they both blurt out, "Look, I'm—" then laugh again.

"Go ahead," Will says politely.

"I was just going to say that, well, I'm not really actually looking for a relationship right now."

"Oh," Will is surprised by her candidness.

"No offense, really," she says, reaching a hand out to touch his arm. "I'm sure you're a great guy."

"Thanks, I guess," Will says, thinking of all of the ways he can torture Chad for doing this to him.

"No, really, I obviously don't know you very well, but, from what Chad says when we all hang out, you're a good guy."

"Well, it's nice that he has given you that impression. I try to be. Although, I suppose if you trust Chad's judgment, then that is a bit disturbing," Will says in a serious tone, but can't keep a straight face.

They share a laugh, then Will admits, "It's funny that you say that…that you aren't really looking for a relationship right now. I'm not really either."

"Well, I just got out of a long relationship, so I just feel like I need some time for myself for a while, before I jump into anything else. What about you?"

"Uh, well, no long relationship, but, same here, need some time to myself. Figure some things out." Will's thoughts drift off for a few seconds, but he reels them back in before she has time to inquire any more. "There's actually someone that I might be interested in, but…I don't know." He is shocked by his own admission, since this is the first he is hearing about it himself.

Morgan's face and voice soften, "Not sure if she feels the same way?"

With a cynical chuckle, Will replies, "Well, that isn't _exactly_ it, but something like that."

After a little more small talk, Will finds his way back to the drink table, where Chad practically sprints over to him. "Sooooo?" he asks, eager to get the scoop.

"Soooo…what?" Will says coyly.

Chad smacks him on the arm, "Come on! You _know_ what! Did you two hit it off?"

"Um, first, ouch! And, second, thanks for the introductions, but…she really isn't my type."

"Not your type?...NOT YOUR TYPE? Geez, Will, did you SEE her?" Chad has clearly been drinking enough to let him be a little more vocal…or louder anyway.

"Yes, Chad, I did. And I TALKED to her too…because, you know, that matters in a relationship too," Will teases back.

"Yeah, yeah, so, what went wrong?" Chad asks, baffled.

"Nothing," Will answers nonchalantly. "You're right, she IS beautiful. And she seems really nice."

"So…you prefer ugly and mean?" Always Chad with his smart remarks.

"No, but I do prefer…I mean, I _think_ I may prefer…" Will wants to share with Chad, his best friend, his roommate, what he is thinking…what he has been feeling.

Chad puts his arms out, begging for an answer, "What? May prefer what?"

Will's eyes dart around the patio, looking everywhere but directly at Chad. He swallows hard and answers, "brunettes."


	4. Chapter 4

"Coffee?" Will asks, getting out of his car in the studio parking lot.

"Yeah," Sonny answers with a laugh, closing his car door and stretching, "can't wait to get in there and grab some," he continues, rubbing a hand over his face, clearly still tired.

"Oh…uh…no…I mean, I was asking if you wanted some…I, uh, stopped at "Romancing the Bean" on the way here, and, well, I got an extra one…for you…if you want it." Will walks around his car and toward Sonny's, holding a cup in each hand.

"Seriously?" Sonny asks, astonished by Will's thoughtfulness.

Will is unsure what to say, worried that Sonny might think he is weird to have done such a thing for him, "Yeah, I mean, it's no big deal—"

"No, no, it _is_ a big deal. That was so nice of you! Thanks!" Sonny walks over and takes it from Will, lightly brushing his hand in the process. "The stuff in food services is okay, but it is no "Romancing the Bean!" Taking a brief sip, Sonny moans, "Ooh…that is SO good!"

Will, who had been watching Sonny's response, and still feeling the electricity from their brief touch, now quickly looks away, taking a deep breath in an attempt to slow his pulse. "So, how was the movie?"

"Well, I fell asleep at the end, but I hear it was good," Sonny explains, with a brief laugh. The mention of the movie reminds him of his dream, a replay of yesterday's scenes, and his reaction, even as he slept. He suddenly feels nervous just walking next to Will.

"Oh, well…it sounds like it was!" Will laughs.

"What? Sorry, what was?" Sonny thinks he has clearly missed something.

"The movie…it was obviously a good movie if you fell asleep at the end!"

"Oh, oh yeah," Sonny smiles, "Sorry, I guess I need to drink more of this coffee before I try to have a conversation." He stops and takes a gulp bigger than he should have, and it burns a bit. He turns his head to wince at the pain, then continues, "And how was your get-together?"

"Oh, it was okay," Will says blandly. Then he decides to test the waters a bit, "Chad tried to set me up," he says with a nervous laugh, rolling his eyes.

"Oh?" Time for another gulp. "Who with?" Sonny asks, opening the studio door, and letting Will go in first.

"Oh, hey, thanks…Some friend of a friend. We talked for about 2 minutes and decided we neither one wanted to be set up."

Sonny feels a bit of nervousness or happiness or disappointment, he isn't sure. "No? You were just saying yesterday that you wanted to find someone—"

"HEY YOU TWO! You were supposed to be in hair and makeup 15 minutes ago! Let's go!" The booming voice interrupts their conversation, and sends them running down the hall, careful not to spill their vital coffee.

After hair and makeup, the boys are back together on set, and it is time for the post-afterglow scenes.

"Last night meant a lot to me." Sonny says, as he and Will are back on the set bed.

"It meant a lot to me too..._You_ mean a lot to me." Will says and pulls Sonny across the bed for a somewhat surprising kiss, as the director yells, "CUT!"

"Sorry, I just thought that after what they just did…you know, in yesterday's scenes, that he would be eager to have his boyfriend in a more suggestive position than just sitting up and kissing him, like it said in the script, but I will be good and follow it this time."

"No, no, I think it was great, Will! Yeah, I mean, who would know the characters better than you and Sonny? Any time you want to change it up a little, feel free. You two are the ones really _creating_ these characters, so create away….Within reason."

Will and Sonny both laugh, exchanging glances, and Will apologizes to Sonny, "Sorry, hope I didn't catch you off guard. It just felt right." He immediately feels the need to clarify, "I mean, for the characters, in that moment, it felt right."

"No, yeah, you're right…I think it did feel right. In the moment. For the characters." Sonny says, standing up from the bed, suddenly very aware of his closeness to a shirtless Will.

Having forgotten they are not alone, both men are startled when the director, having consulted with one of the writers, begins to explain, "You know, Will, I think you're right. I think he would want to kind of…well, for lack of a better term, get right back at it, after his first time with his boyfriend. I think this calls for the boys for the boys to have a bit of a make out session. The last scene ended with you pulling him into a kiss in front of you, so, let's begin this next one with you pushing him back to lying on the bed."

Sonny nervously bites his bottom lip, but raises his brows and shakes his head, "Okay, sure."

Will tries to stifle a smile at the thought of lying on top of Sonny, then opens his mouth instead, taking in a deep breath through his teeth, "Sssoooo, okay, ready?" he asks Sonny.

"Ready to make out with you?" Sonny laughs, and hopes Will doesn't catch his nervousness.

"Well, we just did a lot more than that, so this is nothing!" Will says, reminding him of yesterday's scenes.

"Ha, yeah, true, this is nothing!" Sonny says, "It's nothing," he repeats to himself.


	5. Chapter 5

The next week, Will and Sonny have no scenes together. Will's character is dealing with some family issues, while Sonny's character is out of town on business. On Friday afternoon, Will has just finished up his scenes and is sauntering down the hall, checking his phone. It has been days since he has seen or talked to Sonny, and, it feels very strange. Lonely, to be honest. Sure, he has been hanging out with Chad and some other friends, but he has truly missed even seeing Sonny's face.

"Hey, you!" Will suddenly hears, snapping his head up from his empty inbox.

"Hey!" Will responds, maybe a little too excitedly, he thinks. But as he gets closer, Sonny goes in for a hug, and Will feels justified in his excitement.

"How have you been?" Sonny asks, smiling brightly.

"Good. Busy. How about you?" Will says, while really thinking how much he had missed filming with Sonny.

"Well, not busy," Sonny laughs.

"Oh, geez, sorry, I didn't mean to—"

"No, no, it's okay. You have been here longer, you deserve more screen time. It's fine. I'm actually here to pick up my script for _next_ week," he says with a smile.

"Oh yeah? I just picked mine up, I wonder if we have any scenes together," Will says, taking the script out of his bag and eagerly leafing through it.

"I hope so…."

Will looks at him with a curious smile. He hopes so?

"I mean, you know, our characters just kind of…'solidified' their relationship, so it would be silly for them not to have some scenes together soon."

"Yeah," Will says, glancing back down at the script to hide his disappointment, "true."

As Will reads through the scenes, Sonny notices his eyebrows furrowing a bit. "Everything okay? Some rough scenes?"

"What? No…no, not at all. I was just reading _our_ scenes for next week—"

"What? Bad?"

"No," Will says, smiling, "it's actually really good…it's a good step for our characters, actually."

"What?" Sonny says, moving closer to take a look, "what happens?"

"Um, no, I don't want to ruin it for you. You'll have to read your own!" Will says, hiding the script behind his back.

Sonny, reaches around one side of Will, then the other, finally holding on to Will's left side as he reaches around to the right. Both boys have been laughing as they played their game of keep away, but, as Sonny finally manages to grab the papers, both arms encircled around Will, the hall goes silent. Remnants of laughter, bright smiles remain on their faces as Sonny looks up and directly into Will's eyes. They hold their gaze for mere seconds, staring into the same eyes they had so many times on screen, but, now the feeling is different. Deeper. Their smiles dissipate, not to frowns, but to a look of realization, or is it confusion? Sonny bites his bottom lip and Will swallows even though his mouth is suddenly incredibly dry. Sonny drops his hand from the script, "Fine, I'll go get my own." He takes his arms from around Will, walking away-around Will and down the hall with a chuckle, saying, "be that way!."

Will gives a crooked smile, not turning to reply, simply yelling down the hall, "See you Monday!"

"See ya!" Sonny yells back.

Will isn't sure how he should be feeling after their encounter, but he does know one thing for sure now, he has feelings for Sonny, and there was no denying it anymore. He is just setting himself up for disappointment by admitting it though, he decides. Sonny was just fooling around about the script. Sonny has a girlfriend. He has no chance with Sonny. He contemplates this as he walks down the hall and out the door to the parking lot…

…and Sonny watches from the opposite end of the hall as the door closed behind him.


	6. Chapter 6

"Soooo…" Bethany says, leaning her head into the side of Sonny, moving from sitting to lying down, picking up his arm and putting it around her, "what's the plan for tonight?"

Sonny is looking over his script, deep in thought.

"Sonny?"

He jerks his head to look at her, finally snapping out of it, "What?...Did you say something?"

"Wow," Bethany says, moving Sonny's arm from around her shoulders, and sitting back up.

"What? What did I do? What's wrong?" Sonny asks, putting the script down.

"Well, honestly, nothing," she says, flatly.

"I don't understand," Sonny says, a wrinkle forming on his forehead.

"You didn't DO anything because for, oh, about a week, you haven't _done_ anything. _We_ haven't _done_ anything. You've been moping around here, and have hardly stopped playing video games…well, until today, when you have been looking at that script like you were studying for the Bar Exam," Bethany explains, with a mix of disappointment and anger.

"I'm sorry, babe," he says, putting his arm back around her, "I just hate not working. It's just what I do, and when I can't do it…when I have no scenes…I feel all out of my element. Now I'm just excited to get back to work," he says, testing the waters by giving her a kiss on the forehead, "I really am sorry if I've been ignoring you."

"It's okay. Yeah, I guess I understand…I just wanted to spend some time with you," she says with a slight smile.

"I know, it's just—Well, I have an idea," Sonny says, coming up with a compromise.

"Okay," Bethany smiles, "I'm listening."

"Well, I do need to practice my lines, " he says, seeing more disappointment in her eyes, "but…what if you run lines with me?"

"Run lines with you? Who would I have to be?" she asks.

"Well, most of my scenes are with Will this week, so you get to play my love interest….You interested?"

She half-rolls her eyes, smirking, "okay, I'm in."

"Great!" Sonny says, getting up and walking to the printer.

"What are you doing?" Bethany asks, confused.

"I'm making a copy, so you will have one too. It will be easier to run lines that way."

"Oh, okay, so I'll be all official," she says with a laugh.

"Yep," he says, handing her the copy, "you'll be my official love interest." He gives her a quick peck on the cheek, and sits down facing her to practice lines.

Bethany begins,_ "Oh, and, while we're on good news, um, I saw my dad earlier, and uh, he said…that you said…"_

Sonny looks at her and smiles brightly,_ "That I love you?"_

Bethany nods.

Sonny looks deeply into her eyes and continues,_ "I did say that. But I really regret that…I told him and not you…'cause I love you, I really love you."_

"Wow," Bethany says once again, but with no anger in her voice this time.

"What?" Sonny asks again.

"I don't think I have ever heard you say it quite like that."

"What are you talking about," Sonny asks, gently touching her cheek, "I tell you I love you all the time."

"Not like that you don't," Bethany says, sadly.

"Honey," he pleads, putting his other hand up to her face, "it's tv. Everything is more dramatic on tv. Someone writes this stuff _for us_. I'm sorry, I know I'm not as good with words as the writers are."

"No, no, you're right, you say it and you mean it, and that is what matters. I was stupidly overreacting. Geez, how lame am I, jealous of your pretend relationship with a pretend person?" she says, putting her head in her hands.

Sonny pulls her in for a hug, chuckling, "You aren't stupid or lame. You are human…more importantly, what we have is real…and all of that…" he says, his head resting on her shoulder, raising his eyes up to the ceiling and taking a deep breath, "all of that is just like you said…pretend."


	7. Chapter 7

Will had some early morning scenes with his 'family' on Monday, so he already has a few scenes under his belt by the time Sonny arrives.

"Who looks like they could use a coffee today?" Sonny teases as he walks on set, seeing Will lying on the coffeehouse set's couch.

"Uuuuugh," Will moans. "Well, some of us had to get up before noon today."

"I would love to have that problem," Sonny says, but with a smile. Seeing Will put his hand to his forehead and open his mouth to apologize, he said, "Stop, I'm kidding. I hate getting up early."

"Shoot," he adds a minute later.

"What? What's wrong," Will says, sitting up and looking worried.

"Speaking of coffee…I still owe you! I should have brought you one!" Sonny says, disappointed that he hadn't thought of it earlier.

"No! You don't 'owe' me at all! Like I said, I was going anyway, so I just picked one up for you. And anyway, after _our_ scenes, I am done for the day, and then I am going home for a nap! So coffee would have been a bad idea…so thank you for _not_ bringing me one," Will rambled on, nervously.

Sonny laughed, "Oookay…You're welcome…I guess. Really? A nap? I thought you were a night owl."

"Oh, I am…but Chad and I decided to make our get-togethers…'parties' really…a weekly thing…and what better day to do them than Monday, when everything else sucks!" Will chuckles.

Sonny smiles, "Makes sense to me!"

"So anyway, if I'm going to make it through all of those people at our place, then I'm going to need some sleep first!" Will gets a far off look in his eyes and says, "Wait!"

Confused, Sonny says, "Wait what?"

"On second thought, you _do_ owe me!" Will says, his face lighting up.

"Okay, now you've got me worried."

"No, no, nothing to worry about," Will pauses to build up his courage, "Just come over tonight."

"Come over?" Sonny says, swallowing hard.

"Yeah, you never hang out with me and Chad anymore, so come over and we'll call it even! You, me, Chad, and 20 of our best friends!" Will tried to act nonchalant while tugging at Sonny's guilt from not 'paying him back.'

"Oh, the party," Sonny says, both relieved and disappointed, "um, I don't know. I'll have to see if Bethany has anything planned for us tonight."

Will doesn't _dislike_ Bethany. He just doesn't know her that well. And she is Sonny's girlfriend, so that makes him a bit biased when it comes to her. Begrudgingly, Will offers, "Well, why don't you bring her with you? I know that she's friends with some of the other people who are coming."

"Oh, really? Okay, well, I'll mention that to her. I'll text you when I get home, okay?"

"Sounds good!" Will says, trying to contain his excitement at even a 'maybe'.

It is time to start shooting their scenes, and Will is feeling confident. Daring even. He walks through the door of the coffeehouse and greets Sonny as scripted. However, the duo _was_ given creative license to add whatever they wanted to a scene, within reason, and Will was going to take them up on that today.

_"Hey"_

_"Hi, what's goin' on?"_

Sonny and Will methodically work through their chit chat lines, until finally it is the moment that Will has been waiting for:

_"I don't…want to talk about it at all."_ Will says, moving closer to Sonny. _"But…" _Carefully reaching down, Will takes the strings from the apron Sonny is wearing in his hands. He pulls on the strings, untying the apron. Completely taken by surprise, Sonny looks down, and trying to cover his nervousness, laughs and smiles, and grabs the apron before it falls to the ground. He manages to stay in character, and goes along with Will's ad libbing, "_I really do…wanna be with you…right now."_ Having Will that close to him, saying those words with such a longing in his voice, Sonny struggles to finish the scene. Once they walk out of the coffeehouse doors, Sonny excuses himself to go get a drink.

Sonny gets his drink, then heads to the restroom for a mirror pep talk. He wants to splash his face with cold water, but knows that the makeup crew would not appreciate that, so he stays in the restroom until the redness in his face has faded. He takes a deep breath, looks at himself in the mirror, and says, "You can do this…" and heads to the bedroom area of the set. Will is already there and shirtless. Sonny sits at the end of the bed, facing away from Will, but catches a sideways glance at him before the scene begins. He smiles and begins his lines. The next few minutes are not difficult, because the conversation is not about them and their relationship, but other characters. However, soon they get to the lines that Sonny has been dreading.

Will begins,_ "Oh, and, while we're on good news, um, I saw my dad earlier, and uh, he said…that you said…"_

Sonny smiles and says,_ "That I love you?"_

Will nods.

Sonny looks deeply into his eyes and continues,_ "I did say that. But I really regret that…I told him and not you…'cause I love you, I really love you."_

Will's eyes are studying his, and he feels that now familiar tug in his chest. He manages to make eye contact until the director yells, "CUT!" He lets out a sigh of relief, but the relief is short-lived, as the director tells them to stay put, they will pick up where they left off in just a second. The boys remain awkwardly quiet as they wait. Sonny looks everywhere but at Will, and nervously taps his fingers together, one by one.

The scene resumes and Will grabs Sonny's arm. Sonny doesn't hear any of the lines Will is saying as he looks into his eyes…until he hears him say, "_I love you too."_

As Sonny delivers his next line, he pulls his arm free from Will's grasp and gets up off of the bed before he was directed to move. He wastes the extra time by fiddling with the shirt he has to put back on, then distracts himself by saying his lines while buttoning it up.

The scene is over, and Sonny immediately exits the set without a word. Delaying his departure from the set, and giving Will time to leave, he finds a remote area of the outdoor set and sits alone to think.


	8. Chapter 8

Friends have started arriving for the party, and Will is giddy with excitement, and nauseous with fear. He isn't sure what happened at the end of their scenes today, but Sonny seemed to not be able to get away from the set fast enough. Had Will overstepped their creative license by untying the apron during the coffeehouse scene? He didn't think so—Sonny had seemed to think it was funny. Will _did_ recall, however, that Sonny had quickly left the set after _that_ scene as well. Whatever was going on with Sonny, Will is pretty sure that he won't end up coming tonight, which disappoints him more than he cares to admit.

Will stands at the drink table contemplating all of this for longer than he realizes when a familiar voice brings chills to his skin. "Hey, Will, you remember Bethany?" Sonny says, his arm tightly around her waist.

"Oh, hey," Will says, shaking himself back into conscious thought, "yeah, sure, how's it going?" He fakes a smile, polite to a fault.

"Good, thanks," Bethany says with a slight smile, then turns her attention back to Sonny, studying his every word and movement. Will thinks how odd she seems to be acting, and thinks that maybe this may be what had affected Sonny's mood today.

"Well, I think we'll head over here and get something to eat," Sonny says with a smile, motioning toward the grill. "Thanks for inviting us, Will!"

"Yeah," Will forces a smile, "no problem! Have a good time!"

Sonny nods, "Thanks!"

Will spends the next hour or so mingling among the other guests, but has spent all day acting, and doesn't feel like he can keep it up into the evening as well. He settles into a lounge chair in the corner and finds himself intently watching Sonny talking with Bethany. Sonny has not lost physical contact of her all evening. Will feels pangs of jealousy running through him, but also genuinely wants Sonny to be happy.

"Earth to Will!" Chad says, a little too close to his ear.

"What do you want?" Will says, more annoyed than angry.

"Oh my God," he suddenly hears from the now occupied chair next to him.

Startled, Will looks over to see Chad looking at Sonny and Bethany as well. So many thoughts run through Will's head, a mishmash of fears: Is Chad seeing how in love Sonny is with Bethany, or does he know about Will's feelings? What has gotten Chad so worked up?

Reluctantly, Will asks, "What?"

"You sly thing, you," Chad says with a smirk.

_Oh no,_ Will thinks, _he knows_. "What are you talking about?" he asks, feeling like he is about to be "outed" in so many ways.

"You said you liked brunettes…"

"Yes…"

"You didn't tell me there was one in particular," Chad says, still smiling broadly.

"Well, I—" Will starts to explain.

"But, geez, Will, picking one that's taken? New low, man, new low," Chad shakes his head.

"Well, that's why I haven't said anything…and I haven't done anything about it," Will stammers.

"I get it, she's one of your friend's girlfriend. No one wants to be THAT guy," Chad says, eyes widening.

"What?" Will says, confused.

"Bethany, right? I'll give it to you, she IS hot…but you're right…off limits," Chad says, settling back in his chair.

Will wants to breathe a sigh of relief, but instead, decides now is as good of a time as any to tell his best friend.

"Actually…yes, there is a brunette, but…no…it isn't Bethany," Will slowly explains.

"What are you talking about, man?" Chad turns to face him, and stretches out a hand toward Sonny's table. "I've seen you staring off over there all night. The only other brunette over there…is…" he stops when he looks back at the table.

Chad slowly moves his gaze over to Will, mouth open, "oh," Chad says, stone faced, gears clearly moving full speed in his head. He sees Will swallow his nervousness and quickly look away. "Oh," he repeats, his eyebrows and voice and octave higher.

Will lets out the breath he had been holding, relieved that his secret is out, but scared to death of how Chad will react. His gaze falls to the ground, unable to look Chad in the eyes, but he is too eager to know Chad's reaction to keep it there for long. He glances up at Chad, whose top lip is tucked in under his bottom lip, and he shaking his head as if understanding everything clearly. Finally, he turns in the chair and sits back again, "That's cool."

"What?" Will asks, stunned.

Chad looks over at Will and shrugs his shoulders, "You like Sonny…that's cool. I mean, it's cool with me."

"Yeah?" Will asks, a smile creeping across his face.

"Yeah," Chad replies, "I mean, he IS hot." Chad turns to Will and smiles a clever smile, Will rolls his eyes and shakes his head, then they both start laughing heartily.

Will stands up and says, "Come here, man," and Chad stands as well. Will gives him a hug and says, "Thanks for being such a good friend to me, and not freaking out."

Chad simply says, "I wouldn't be a good friend if I _did_."


	9. Chapter 9

Sonny and Bethany are sitting at a round table on the rooftop patio talking to some old friends of Bethany's...or, to be more exact, Bethany is talking and Sonny is smiling and paying little attention to what was being said. One of the girls is a friend she hasn't seen since high school, so the conversation flows, full of stories of college and boyfriends and old memories.

Sonny sees that Bethany is fully occupied and, moving only his eyes, steals a sideways glance at Will. To his surprise, it seems that Will is looking right at him. Quickly returning his attention back to the table, Sonny dismisses what he has just seen, figuring Will is sitting in a remote corner on the other side of the patio...he could have been looking at any number of things or people. Sonny is determined to focus all of his attention on the current conversation. He starts laughing at all of the stories of high school awkwardness that Bethany's friends are telling, even though he doesn't find them remotely funny.

After a long ten minutes or so of struggling to focus, Sonny strategically moves his arm, knocking his napkin to the floor. He scoots his chair back and bends down to pick it up, then slowly raises up, peeking over the table at Will. His heart stops, then recovers with a tangible thump. Will and Chad stand in the dark corner, arms around each other, both smiling brightly. Before sitting up completely, Sonny drops his napkin again. He reaches to get it, then, sitting up, hits his head on the table.

This is followed by a chorus of "Ooooh," from the entire table of guests, whose drinks have sloshed all over the tablecloth. Sonny sits the rest of the way up, apologizing profusely, "I am so sorry! Geez, so sorry... I dropped my napkin and.." he trails off, noticing Bethany's once white, now red blouse. Her mouth is wide open from the shock of the chilled wine and the stained clothing. Sonny focuses his apologies on her, trying to help her dab it up with napkins. She remains speechless.

"Come on, Bethany, I live downstairs. You can borrow something of mine and we can put that to soak," offers her high school friend.

Bethany stands up, still not acknowledging Sonny or his apologies, and follows her friend. The other girls at the table join them, shooting darts at Sonny as they walk by. Left to sit alone, Sonny tosses the soaked napkins down on the table and settles his face into his hands.

"Rough night?" he jerks his head up at the sound of Will's voice.

Sonny looks at him for only a second before lifting the soaked napkins up, "You could say that," he says, placing them back down.

"It's just a tablecloth, no biggie," Will says, placing his hand on Sonny's arm to calm him.

Sonny takes a deep breath, Will's touch having the opposite affect entirely. "No...no, it isn't just a tablecloth," he says, rubbing his forehead, "It's Bethany's shirt too...and possibly our relationship," he explains, shaking his head.

Will glances at Chad, who then announces that the football game had just started, if anyone wants to watch it in their apartment. The patio begins to clear.

"Oh?" Will says, sitting down next to Sonny.

"Judging from the silent treatment she's giving me, and the fact I just ruined her night...yeah, I'd day so."

"Oh... I... I'm sorry Sonny," Will lies.

"Yeah...it's...whatever..." Sonny says, clearly emotionally exhausted.

"Girls!" Will says, "who needs 'em?"

Sonny cracks a smile, then gives a slight laugh.

Glancing around the rooftop, Will notices that they are now all alone. He takes a deep breath and says, "I don't."

"What?" Sonny says, breaking out if his stupor. "You don't what?"

"Um...need girls."

"Yeah, you had said Chad tried to set you up but you didn't want to be," Sonny said, fishing for information.

Will sees this isn't going to be as easy as he had hoped, "Yeah, well...it just wasn't the right... person."

Sonny listens as Will explains, but when Will is done, they find themselves holding eye contact, sitting side by side.

Sonny abruptly looks away and says, "So...you and Chad?"

"Yeah?"

"You two...you're..."

"We're...good friends?" Will says, not sure what Sonny is asking, "and roommates...for another month or so anyway."

"What? Why only another month?" Sonny asks, setting aside his previous inquiry.

"Oh, he's decided he would rather live with his girlfriend than me. Go figure."

"His girlfriend?" Sonny asks, confused.

"Yeah, you haven't met her yet...she travels a lot for work, but she has found a job here, so he is leaving me with the rent. I hate to think of having to find a new roommate. I'm kind of a neat freak."

Sonny looks at him, raising an eyebrow, "What?! I have seen your dressing room!"

The boys laugh, then sit smiling for a moment beyond what is probably acceptable for two friends.

Just then, they hear someone clearing their throat and turn to see Bethany in a clean shirt, holding her purse. "You ready to go?" she asks flatly.

Sonny glances at Will, then hops up from the chair and heads over to Bethany, "sure...thanks Will!"

"Thanks for coming! Oh, and, don't forget your jacket!" Will says, motioning to the back of Sonny's chair.

Sonny walks back over to his chair, and, with his back to Bethany, says "We..." bits his lip and corrects himself, "I...had a great time!" and gives Will a quick smile before returning to his poker face for Bethany.

The couple turns to leave, and Will leans back in his chair, letting out a deep sigh.


	10. Chapter 10

Bethany sits for a good twenty to thirty minutes listening to her friends talk about what jerks guys can be sometimes before she snaps out of the daze she has been in since just before the thump. She finally admits, "He didn't mean for it to happen... I don't think he even realized... He would never do anything to hurt me on purpose," she rambles on, thinking about what had happened at the table...how she noticed him drop his napkin and bend down to get it, and how his eyes changed when he saw Will and Chad hugging. How he had been so distracted...flustered...that he dropped the napkin again and the unfortunate incident had resulted.

"Hurt you?" her friend asks, confused, once again breaking her out of her deep thoughts.

Shaking her head, she clarifies, speaking quickly, frantically, "Not hurt... I mean, like, um, make me feel embarrassed. That's what I meant. I should get going. Thank for putting my shirt to soak, but I'll go ahead and take it home to wash it. I'll get this one I borrowed back to you soon! Thanks for everything, and it was good to see you! We should hang out soon! Text me, okay?" And with that, she heads to the rooftop to find Sonny. Opening the door to the patio, she sees that the area has cleared out, except one lone occupied table. Sonny and Will, sitting, laughing. They are startled when she clears her throat, interrupting their fun. She and Sonny are ready to leave when Will reminds him to get his jacket. She looks on as Sonny leans in to say something to Will, causing both to smile broadly. Witnessing their 'moment,' she swallows the lump in her throat.

The ride home is quiet. Bethany stares out the passenger's side window, as Sonny occasionally glances her way, trying to will her to talk to him. Yell at him. Anything…

Nothing. The whole ride home. Nothing. Finally, they arrive back at their apartment. Sonny unlocks and opens the door, his arm outstretched, motioning for her to go in first. Bethany says a quiet "Thank you," and slips inside. It is late, and they are both exhausted from the night's events. They head into the bedroom. She gently kicks her shoes onto the closet floor. He unbuttons his dress shirt and tosses it into the hamper. They go through these usual bedtime rituals, only tonight they seem more forced. Methodical. They glance at each other nervously across the bed, as if it is their first night together. Only the awkwardness isn't from not knowing each other well yet, but from the disillusionment of realizing they _thought_ they knew each other…knew _themselves_…but tonight had proven them both wrong.

Their eyes drift down to the bed. They pull the covers down. Lying down, Sonny turns to say goodnight, but, her back turned to him, it is evident this is done for tonight. He reaches up and turns the light off, thankful for the night to be over.

It is 4 a.m. and Bethany is wide awake. She is sure that he slept for at least a little while, but she knows she might as well give in and get up. She rolls over to find the other side of the bed empty. An indescribable feeling passes through her. She isn't used to waking up alone. She wonders if Sonny is okay, where he is, what he is thinking, what _she_ should be thinking. She gets up and looks out the window. Although she is no morning person, it is calming to be up this early. The usually buzzing city is still in bed. Calm. The day is full of possibilities. She just isn't sure she wants to face those possibilities.

She walks down the hall, finding Sonny sitting on the couch in the living room. She remembers the last time they sat there together, Sonny falling asleep during the movie, then the passionate night that followed. Those were the days...just days ago. The days of ignorant bliss. The days shortly before- Bethany has a fleeting thought that makes her gasp out loud. Startled, Sonny turns to see her standing a few feet behind him.

"Oh my-you scared me…Sorry, did I wake you?"

"No, I—I just couldn't sleep," Bethany answers, trying to focus.

"Yeah, me neither," Sonny says, pressing his lips together in a sympathetic slight smile.

"Whatcha doin'?" she asks, walking around the side of the couch.

"Oh, I was just reading over tomorrow's scenes," Sonny answers, glad to see they are at least on speaking terms in these early morning hours.

"Oh?" Bethany probes for details.

"Yeah, nothing too major going on though, so I don't really _need to_, if you want to talk," Sonny says, tossing the script aside. "Listen, I'm sorry about last night…"

Bethany sits down on the couch, but on the opposite end from Sonny. "It's okay," she says, shaking her head, "I know it was an accident. It's just…"

"It's just, what? What's wrong?" Sonny asks, turning, putting his leg up on the couch and facing her.

"Can I ask you something?"

Nervously, Sonny agrees, "Sure."

"When did you and Will shoot your love scenes?" she asks, staring down at the couch.

"What? What does…what does that even have to do with anything?" Sonny says, confused.

"I just wondered…when was it?"

"Um," Sonny shifts uncomfortably in his spot, "Well, yesterday…and…a couple of weeks before that I guess…on that Wednesday maybe?"

"So…that day I met you on set?"

Recalling the day, Sonny swallows his nerves and replies, "Yes."

"When you were all…you know…and we went home after and…"

"Yes," Sonny quickly says, now, too, staring at the couch.

"And the _other_ time was the time that we were practicing lines for…and I told you that you had never told me you loved me like that…and then we…"

Sonny takes a deep breath, "Yes."

"So, is that how it works then?...When your character and Will's character have sex, we do too?"

"What? That's…that's…what do you even _mean_ by that…that's…"

"True?"

Sonny has now lifted his eyes are no longer staring at the couch, but refuse to look at Bethany either. Instead, they dart around the room and roll to the ceiling, in anger and frustration and sheer panic.

"Sonny…" she says so gently that Sonny drops his defenses and finally looks at her. He says nothing, but she has his attention, so she continues, "I've seen the way you look at him."

Sonny shakes his head, and gives a slight laugh, "I don't know what you're talking about. You've seen us on _tv_. Acting, Bethany. Acting."

"I'm not talking about on _tv_. I'm talking about at the _party_."

Sonny panics, thinking about his jealousy that night, but presses on, defenses up, "At the _party_, we stopped and said hi to him, and that was _it_…I was with _you_ all night until…"

"Until you were so distracted by him that you hit your head on the table and spilled the wine?" she said, without any anger, only numbness in her voice.

Sonny closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. "I don't know, Bethany. I don't know what's going on with me. First, he was just my cast mate…just a co-worker…" Sonny gets up and begins to pace, again unable to look in her eyes. "Then, I don't know…when we started getting closer _on_ screen…then…then things started to change off screen."

Finally, he turns to face her. She has sadness, disappointment, in her eyes. He sits down close to her and takes her hands. She lets him, aware that this is not in any way a romantic gesture.

"I never meant to hurt you. I didn't even know myself. I'm still not sure I know—"

"You do…you know."

He looks down at her hands and shakes his head, "I guess I do…yeah."

She lets go, wiping the tears that have now begun.

"I am _so_ sorry," Sonny says.

Bethany shakes her head, "I know. And, as much as I wanted this to work, I can't be this for you. I can't be Will, and I can't be the person that you come home to after your make-believe foreplay. I can't, and I _won't_."

"And you shouldn't. I don't want you to. If I would have realized before, I **never** would've—" Sonny says, cut off by her hand to his lips.

"I know you wouldn't have. You're not a _bad guy_, Sonny. You were just a confused one." She stands up, "and now…now you aren't."

He nods, tears now in his eyes too.

"I'll be packed up by the time you get home from work," she says, heading toward the bedroom.

Sonny is taken aback, but realizes that someone _needs to go, _"No, no, you shouldn't have to…I'll go. You can have the apartment."

"What? Are you sure? It was _your_ place first," Bethany says, stunned.

"Yes, I'm sure…you take it. I will find a place to stay."


	11. Chapter 11

"Weeeeellll, good morning, sleepyhead," Chad says, rubbing Will's messy hair, as they pass in the kitchen. Will is still in his plaid pajama pants and a tank top. Chad has clearly been up for much longer, and is dressed for work.

"Mmmhmm," Will replies, running a hand over his face, then attempting to smooth his hair back down.

"Somebody stayed up too late chatting it up with Sonny," Chad teases, pouring himself a coffee to go.

Will smiles, "We weren't up there _that_ late. We talked for a while, but then Bethany—"

"Ugh, buzzkill," Chad says, tossing his head back. Jerking his head back down to face Will, he adds,"Hey, I tried!"

"What? What do you mean?" Will asks, baffled.

Chad raises his eyebrows and does a slight shake of the head, "Um, hello…when I told everyone the Monday Night Football game was starting?"

"Yeah?"

"I _saw_ you talking to Sonny. Bethany had already huffed and puffed off like the drama queen she turned out to be by that point, so…what you two needed was a nice, quiet place to talk," Chad smiles, proud of himself.

Will smiles too, realizing that, not only was Chad okay with learning Will was gay, he was trying to help he and Sonny get together. "You did that for _me_?" Will asks.

"Well…for me, really," Chad shrugs it off.

"What? For _you_?"

"Yes. I didn't want to see you all depressed, pining after him, like you were before I interrupted your moping last night. I still have to live with you for another month…and that just wouldn't do," Chad says, putting on his jacket.

"Yeah, whatever!" says Will, rolling his eyes, "Seriously, thank you…I really appreciate it. Not that it will go anywhere. I mean, there's still the little matter of B-"

"Blah!" Chad interrupts, loudly.

Will laughs, but, regains his composure and says, "Okay, I know you don't like…"

Chad shoots him a look.

"…HER…but, even if it wasn't _her_, it will probably always be _someone_….someone _female_."

"Just hang in there." Chad reaches for the doorknob to leave, "I saw the way you two acted around each other last night, otherwise I wouldn't have even bothered clearing the patio to create that romantic setting."

Will laughs and shakes his head.

Chad continues, " I don't think it's one-sided."

"No?" Will says, hopeful.

"No," Chad says with a seriousness that makes Will want to believe him. Chad leaves for work, and Will heads for the shower.

Chad passes the time on the elevator by texting a friend. The elevator dings, and Chad pushes the last few buttons to finish his message. He hits send, and looks up to see Sonny walking into the lobby.

"Hey!" Chad says, a little too loudly, startling Sonny.

"Hey," Sonny responds in a much calmer tone.

"What's goin' on?" Chad says, trying not to give Will's secret away with his excitement to see him there.

"Oh, well, I'm actually apartment shopping," Sonny says with just enough disappointment in his voice for Chad to notice.

"Oh? You and…" Chad fights his urge to cringe, "you two moving across town?"

"Uh, actually no…just me." Sonny feels odd sharing this somewhat personal information with Chad, especially since now Chad will be the first to know.

"OH!" Chad smiles for a split second before he bits his lip and says, "I'm so sorry, I didn't realize."

"It's okay, " Sonny says, feeling uncomfortable, eyes looking everywhere but at Chad.

"Well, listen, I gotta get going, but, you know, I think all of the apartments here are set up pretty much the same. You should stop by and say hi to Will, and then you could decide if you like what you see." Chad smiles broadly, but doesn't give Sonny time to respond, but walks off and out the front door.

Sonny is a little shaken by that last comment, but decides not to read too much into it. Clearly, Chad was talking about the apartment…"decided if you like what you see"…yeah, that's what he meant, Sonny is sure of it.

Sonny talks briefly with the concierge, only to find out that all of the apartments are currently being rented. No such luck. Sonny is about to leave when he thinks about what Chad had said. Great, now Chad has seen him here, and if he didn't go see Will while he was here, Chad and Will would think he was a jerk. He would simply go say hi and explain what Chad had told him about looking at their place before making a decision. He would leave out the part about already knowing all of the apartments were full.

Will is finishing drying off when he hears a knock at the door. Chad must've forgotten his key again. Quickly wrapping the towel around his waist, and grabbing another, Will fiercely attempts to dry his hair on the way to the door. Still trying to dry the back of his hair, Will opens the door with his head tilted slightly toward the floor, "Forget something?"

Then Will sees the shoes. Those shoes that had been kicked off during their first makeout scene. This isn't Chad, it is, "Sonny!" Will says, jolting his head up in surprise.

Sonny stands, speechless. He has seen Will shirtless countless times, but not still shower-damp, not with sexy messy hair, and not with only a towel loosely tucked around his hips. A towel that could easily—Sonny snaps out of it, realizing he is staring at the knotted up area of the towel. "I just came up to see if I liked what I saw," Sonny blurts out, distractedly.


	12. Chapter 12

Sonny's eyes widen, his jaw drops, and he lifts his finger to clarify.

Will gives him a sweet smile, breaking the uncomfortable silence, "So…do you?"

Sonny closes his mouth and buys himself a second to think. "Um, well, I mean…I ran into Chad downstairs, and I told him that I'm apartment hunting, and he said that all of the apartments here are set up about the same, so I should come check yours out and see if I liked it before I really, like, you know, looked into renting here," Sonny rambles on quickly.

"Sonny?"

"Yeah?"

"Breathe," Will says with a slight chuckle. He motions for Sonny to come in, and closes the door.

"Yeah, sorry, I just…I guess I'm a bit slap happy right now. I didn't get much sleep last night," Sonny explains, having a seat on the couch.

"Oh, yeah, hey, sorry for keeping you out so late," Will apologizes. He starts to join Sonny on the couch, but, remembering the damp towel around his waist, decides to stay standing.

Sonny puts his hand out, indicating for Will to stop, "No, no, it isn't that. No, not at all. I had fun!"

He pauses to see Will's face light up—which is making his day better already. Then he is reminded of reality, "It's just that Bethany…" Sonny isn't quite sure how to approach the topic.

Recalling the events of the evening—not that he needs help remembering, but he had kind of blocked out the Bethany part—Will replies, "Oh yeah, she was a little miffed last night. So…not much sleep meaning…arguing?"

Full disclosure is definitely not an option, but Sonny wants to let Will know that he and Bethany are over, although he isn't quite sure why. Like it matters.

"Well, no, not fighting…" Sonny says, trying to find the right words.

"OH, oh, so, making up then…Sorry, never mind, geez, that is so not my business," Will says, embarrassed that he even asked.

"No!" Sonny quickly responds, followed by a calmer, quieter, "no…we weren't exactly fighting. Just kind of coming to a mutual understanding."

"Oh, yeah?" Will says, curious.

"Yeah," Sonny fights the urge to stare down at the floor, as he wants to see Will's reaction, "we agreed we shouldn't live together anymore."

Will wants to scream with excitement, but simply says, "So…just not live together, or not be together at all?"

Sonny sighs, feeling slightly uncomfortable discussing this with Will, "Neither…yeah, we, uh…we broke up."

"Oh," Will bites his lip to keep calm and look concerned instead of ecstatic. "I'm sorry if it had anything to do with the party…you know, anything that happened there…I would hate to think I somehow caused this."

Sonny shifts in his seat, "No, it wasn't the party, I think it had been falling apart for a while now." He isn't totally lying. It really hadn't been about the party. Yes, it was about Will, but not in the way Will thought it was.

"Well, then, it sounds like it worked out for the best," Will says, but then it dawns on him, "But, wait, wasn't that _your_ apartment? Then why are _you_ the one apartment hunting?"

"Well, I just figured it was the least I could do."

Will is puzzled, "The least you could do? That sounds like you're trying to make up for doing something wrong. You didn't do anything wrong…it just didn't work out, right?"

Sonny nervously thinks of a way to explain his way out of this one, "Well, what I meant by that…She was only living with me because her apartment complex had a fire. I asked her to move in with me at that point, to give her a place to live, so I think I unintentionally forced us to be kind of serious pretty quickly. We have spent the past few weeks realizing we didn't know each other…or maybe even ourselves…as well as we thought we did."

Seeing Will open his mouth to no doubt ask what he meant by _or even ourselves_, Sonny continues, "Besides, I want to live closer to the studio, and it will be nice to have a fresh start, try something new."

Will smiles, thinking about wanting to try new things as well. He realizes Sonny is smiling back at him, and the two seem to share a moment. Will thinks about what Chad said, _"I don't think it's one sided."_ Could it really be? Could Sonny be interested in him? Will would need more than a cute smile to convince him. Sonny had _just_ had a girlfriend…he was obviously interested in girls. But still, Will _had_ to wonder.

Sonny sits, doing some wondering of his own. He recalls the conversation that he had with Will at the party. Jealous from seeing him hug Chad, Sonny had questioned Will about not wanting to be set up. Will had told him that the girl was "not the right person." So, maybe she just wasn't what Will was looking for in a girlfriend. Understandable. But then there was the other thing he had said, "Who needs 'em," and then, "I don't"… What had he meant by that? Sonny takes a deep breath and decides to find out, now.

"Hey, Will?" Sonny says.

Snapping out of his deep thinking, Will responds, "Yeah?"

"Can I ask you a question?" he asks, determined not to lose courage.

"Sure," Will answers, afraid Sonny could somehow hear what he had been thinking. _Had he said any of that out loud?!_

"At the party…after Bethany stormed off…you said, 'Girls_…who needs 'em_.'"

Will was afraid he knew where this was going, but agreed, "Yes, I did."

"Then you said, 'I don't.'"

"Yes," Will swallows down his nerves.

"Um, well, I was wondering…what did you mean by that? I mean, I know that you said you didn't want set up with that one girl, because she wasn't the right p—"

"Because she was a girl."

"No, you said because she wasn't the right person."

"Yeah, I know what I said, but…but I…I didn't want set up with her because…she's a girl."

Sonny sat, processing what Will was telling him for a minute. "So, what you're saying…"

"I'm gay." Will says bluntly, realizing he has never really said it out loud—not even to Chad. Those words had never been spoken by him before, and it was both liberating and terrifying.

Will sees the shocked look on Sonny's face, though he doesn't say a word. He is completely silent…as he stands up, as he quickly walks to the door, and as he walks out.


End file.
